Hello! Parrot in Watercolour 2016

"Hello"

Parrot in Watercolour

What a week I have had.  I have been offline teaching my UK Summer watercolour workshops and it has been fantastic. This was not a time for anyone on my workshops to be scared of using vibrant colour.

I started the week with a two day course called "Watercolour Heaven" which was more of an art retreat including an evening in my cottage to relax after the first days session. This was followed by an evening meal in a nearby inn. The group of artists on this course and the following two days were wonderful. I am so lucky as the atmosphere in my workshops is always full of enthusiasm and eagerness to absorb new information and techniques.

I am changing as an artist. I seem to have hit a magical time where I am leaping from one new discovery to the next which adds to the excitement on each new workshop as I always have so much that is new to share. This week the focus was on using colours that are new to you rather than sticking to those you know where you can often fall into the trap of repeating the same painting over and over again. Even if you choose a different subject but still paint it in the same colours, after a while you can become very bored. Rather like a parrot learning to talk. After listening to it for a while saying exactly the same thing in exactly the same way does wear a little thin for entertainment value!

Change is good for the soul, especially for the artist who wants to grow in style, technique and skill.

I have had such a great time teaching this week. And I have a full week ahead to look forward to, as I have another group of workshops taking place here in UK next week too.

Everyone attending my workshops is eagerly asking when my 2017 courses will take place. As yet I havent quite decided whether I want to take a year off from teaching so that I can focus on my own art or not. But there will be an announcement on my blog in September or October of this year with full information on what is happening. I haven't had time to even look at my UK  schedule for 2017 as my life has been so hectic recently. But after the opening of my September solo exhibitin in Oxford I hope to rectify that!

For now, "Hello" is a parrot painting that I started as a wash in my last workshop to show how I approach painting subjects minus using a preliminary sketch, being guided by the colour that I see. My courses are all about colour. And there is no better time to celebrate it!

Whatever you are doing whether its' painting or not, enjoy the colour in everything around you and allow that to flow into your art.

Have fun and happy painting!

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Artists Tips:

1) Treat yourself to a new watercolour shade once a month.

2) Take time searching for new exciting shades that will be appealing to work with, these will make you want to paint even more.

3) Avoid the trap of painting the same thing with the same colours. This can lead to feeling bored while you are creating, rather than alive and enthusiastic about painting

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